Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal announced Thursday he will retire from the sport after next month’s Davis Cup finals—capping off a legendary career with 22 Grand Slam titles and more than two decades of dominance in the men’s game alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
In an announcement across his social media, the Spanish tennis star spoke about his recent injury problems, adding that retiring was a “difficult decision” and one that has taken him some time to make.
Saying that everything in life “has a beginning and an end,” the former world number one said his career has been “long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”
The Spaniard said he’s excited that his final tournament will be the Davis Cup Finals, where he will get to represent his country.
The Spanish team, led by Nadal and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, will face the Dutch Davis Cup team in the quarter-final round of the event.
Big Number
14. That is the total number of French Open singles titles Nadal has won in his career, more than any other player in history. Among male tennis players, Sweden’s Bjorn Borg is a distant second with six titles, while the most successful singles female player at the French Open is Chris Evert with seven titles. Nadal’s fellow “Big Three” rivals Federer and Djokovic have won only one and three respectively.
Nadal said: “Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true. I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way. I can only end by saying a thousand thanks to all.”
Forbes Valuation
According to our estimates, Nadal was the sixth highest-paid tennis star of 2024 with an income of $23.3 million. Around $23 million of this was off-court earnings from various endorsement deals as injuries kept him out of most major events in the past year except for the French Open, where he lost in the first round to Alexander Zverev.